Kaspersky Lab, a leading developer of secure content management solutions, announces the publication of an analytical article by David Emm, Senior Regional Researcher, UK, Global Research & Analysis Team, titled ‘Patching human vulnerabilities'. The article discusses the human factor and how it influences the problem of information security.

The author analyzes the methods by which cybercriminals exploit vulnerabilities in the human psyche to spread their programs and collect personal data. According to the article, it comes as no surprise that cybercriminals are increasingly targeting social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Twitter and others, due to the ever-increasing number of people that use them.

The article also clearly shows that humans are typically the weakest link in any security system and that educating the user in computer security techniques should be a core part of any effective IT strategy. No corporate security policy can be considered as effective if it fails to address the human factor. In addition to securing digital resources, IT professionals need to find efficient methods for 'patching' human resources too.

"A security strategy is far more likely to be effective if staff understand and support it. It's also important not to see security information and training as just an IT issue. Rather it should be seen within an overall HR context. Employees need to be told, in simple, straightforward language, the nature of the threat. They need to understand what protection measures the organisation has deployed, and why, and how these may affect them in carrying out their duties. It also ensures that staff – who are increasingly working from home these days – are not exposing business resources to unnecessary risks", - states David.

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